A study led by Carole Peyssonnaux, research director at the Cochin Institute (Inserm/CNRS/Université Paris Cité), revealed a significant link between the hormone hepcidin, which regulates iron in the body, and psoriasis, a chronic inflammatory skin disease.
According to the results published in Nature Communicationshepcidin produced by the skin of patients is linked to the development of psoriasis, particularly in its severe forms.
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Psoriasis, affecting 2-3% of the world’s population, manifests itself as red, scaly patches. Research has shown that hepcidin is not only present, but plays an active role in the disease, retaining iron in the cells of the epidermis, which promotes cell proliferation and contributes to inflammation.
The Cochin Institute team also discovered that activating the hepcidin gene induced psoriasis symptoms, while inactivating it reduced them. These findings suggest that blocking the action of hepcidin could offer a new treatment for patients, particularly those with resistant forms of the disease.
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Research continues to confirm these results and develop treatments that could also prevent recurrence of the disease.
“In the future, if our results prove conclusive, such drugs could be used as maintenance treatment after a flare-up or, during remission phases, to prevent the recurrence of the disease. Further studies will determine whether hepcidin also plays a role in other inflammatory skin diseases,” concludes Carole Peyssonnaux.
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